Interior minister: Restoration in south after flood should finish by March

BANGKOK, Feb 3 (TNA) -- Minister of Interior Gen Anupong Paojinda said he is expected all restorations in the flood affected south to be finished by the end of March, while he is also scheduled to visit the region to inspect areas selected for the construction of flood ways, in a move by the government to solve flood in the long run. The minister, in his capacity as the commander for disaster prevention and mitigation, said that he has been following up on the flooding situation closely, include that on restoration operations. He noted that the flood situation has returned to normal in various areas and all affected locations are currently in the restoration process. He said Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, meanwhile, has reiterated that the flood affected people be well taken care of, adding that all restores are expected to be completed within February, except for areas still inundated which are predicted to be completely restored back to normal by the end of March. Gen Anupong more than half of 11,818 houses damaged by the flood were repaired. He further noted that as a short term solution, the ministry has coordinated with concerned agencies with data on water to gather information and work out the method to quickly drain out flood water in areas which are frequently affected, along with carrying out maintenance on sewerage to ensure proper water flow. As for the long term solution, the minister stressed that flood ways must be constructed, where an inspection of each selected area must be carried out for further study, poting out that some area might have to be dispossessed and a large budget is needed to completed the construction. (END)